Samsung Galaxy M51 review – insane battery life, but that makes the phone slightly heavy

• The Samsung Galaxy M51 has been launched in India at ₹22,999 with a monster 7,000mAh battery.
• The latest smartphone in Samsung’s Galaxy M series not only promises insane battery life, it also offers good performance to go with it.
• With the Galaxy M51, Samsung has a potential winner on the cards.
• While this sounds good on paper, how does it fare in real life? Read our Galaxy M51 review to find out.

Samsung Galaxy M51 is the new battery champion in the Indian smartphone market. The latest smartphone in Samsung’s affordable Galaxy M series is aimed at those who want really, really long battery life. While Samsung has usually focused on delivering good value for money with the Galaxy M series, the Galaxy M51 stands out purely for its massive 7,000mAh battery.

However, battery life is not the only good thing about the Galaxy M51. It has many other features that help it stand out. It’s time to find out how the Galaxy M51 fares in real life.

Samsung Galaxy M51 price in India and availability

The Galaxy M51 price in India starts at ₹22,999. It comes in two colours – electric blue and celestial black. It is available for purchase on Amazon and Samsung India online store.



Samsung Galaxy M51 design – simple but fingerprint magnet

The Galaxy M51 sports a simple design – some might even call it uninspired. However, for a smartphone that aims to deliver value for money, this is par for the course.

For the back of the Galaxy M51, Samsung has used what it calls ‘glasstic’ – a combination of glass and plastic. It helps the phone stand out from a few other plastic phones, but it’s a tier below phones which use glass. In real life, this results in a slightly lighter phone. This is important for the Galaxy M51, which weighs 213 grams thanks to its massive battery.

In comparison, its competitors weigh less because of the smaller batteries. The OnePlus Nord weighs 184 grams, the Redmi Note 9 Pro max weighs, the Realme 7 Pro weighs 182 grams while the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max weighs 209 grams despite a much smaller 5,020mAh battery.

The overall design is very minimalistic. The back of the phone is glossy, and the camera module sits flush with the cover. However, the glossy finish of the phone picks up fingerprints really quickly. Samsung is not bundling a silicone case with the phone, so I found myself wiping it often to keep it clean.

Samsung Galaxy M51 features – there’s more to it than just the big battery

It’s easy for the massive 7,000mAh battery to outshine the rest of the features of the Galaxy M51 – especially when the phone doesn’t feel too thick.

Notably, the Galaxy M51 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G chipset. This helps it deliver better performance compared to other Galaxy M smartphones that use the Exynos 9611 chipset. This is paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.


Samsung hasn’t compromised in other areas either. The Galaxy M51 features a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display that delivers punchy colours and shines bright enough even under direct sunlight. It has a punch hole notch on the top. However, it misses out on the high refresh rate feature that some of its competitors like OnePlus Nord offer.

Apart from this, it has four cameras on the back and one on the front. It also has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor that unlocks the phone instantaneously.

Samsung Galaxy M51 performance and battery life

The Galaxy M51 is as snappy as a smartphone in this price segment can be. The Snapdragon 730G chipset, coupled with the fast memory and storage offers a smooth experience.

I tested the Galaxy M51 with several graphic intensive games to see how it fares. This includes Call of Duty: Mobile, Pokémon Go, and Asphalt 9. The phone showed no signs of slowing down, stuttering or overheating.

As far as the battery life is concerned, a single charge lasted me for more than two days with lots of calls, messages, a few photos, streaming videos and gaming. The phone comes with a 25W fast charger in the box, which is essential with such a massive battery.

Samsung Galaxy M51 camera performance

The Galaxy M51 has four cameras on the back, with the important ones being the 64MP primary camera and the 12MP ultra-wide camera. It has a 32MP camera on the front for selfies and video calling.


In real life, the Galaxy M51 delivered good results in daylight conditions. It focuses quickly and delivers good details, even in indoor conditions with decent lighting. The Scene Optimiser feature quickly identifies the object and surroundings in focus and optimizes settings accordingly. In low-light conditions, it also suggests using Night Mode for better results.


Overall, the dynamic range and colour reproduction is decent. Photos captured with the ultra-wide angle camera were also well-optimized in most cases.

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy M51 is a great contender for one of the best recommendations in its price range. It delivers on most counts, including display, performance, battery life, and the cameras. Its competitive price also gives it an edge compared to other offerings.

Samsung’s custom skin One UI is also amongst the best ones out there, complete with a wide range of features while keeping things simple enough.

If you want great battery life and good performance, the Galaxy M51 should be on your list.

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